Gliding

The rapidly developing world of Electric flight is well represented at Doncaster Aeromodellers Club.  

Members are involved in many facets of electric flight including scale models, electric assisted gliders, pylon racing, sports aerobatics, old timers and helicopters.  A visit to the field on Saturday afternoons or Wednesday evenings will usually prove most entertaining as the electric group nearly always have something new to try out (and what is more, you will find it quite peaceful and relaxing -- just like we do).  And if you visit on Sundays you will also see some great electric sport models being flown amongst the IC powered planes.

Within the electric group there has been a recent re-emergence of balsa bashing in search of competitive 7-cell electric gliders. Interest in this class has been accelerated by the monthly DAC competition which is part of the AEFA sponsored national 7-cell series of events. Model Engines has generously donated a new Supernova 3000 charger for the DAC event - the prize will be drawn from all contestants who participate in at least 6 of the DAC monthly events so you don't have to be an expert to win!

7-cell glider

The overview rules for 7 cell competition can be found on the MAAA site (here).  In summary the event consists of a 5 minute duration flight followed by a spot landing. From a maximum score of 300 duration points a point is deducted for each second that the motor is running and for each second above or below the 5 minute deadline. Bonus points (10,20 or 30) are added for the spot landing based on distance from the spot to the model nose.  The full rules can be found (here)

For anyone interested in assembling a competitive 7-cell model the following provides some general guidelines. Whilst there are a wide variety of models that compete in the 7 cell event common features of successful models are light weight (under 1,000 gms), good glide ratio and as much power as you can extract from 7 cells! Both ferrite and brushless motors are winning events and the choice here is probably driven by cost. A competitive ferrite setup can be assembled using a 10-17 turn buggy motor, ~3.8:1 gear box, 50Amp controller and a 13-14" folding prop. 

There are a number of brushless motors available for use in this event with the new Mega and Jeti range becoming more affordable and available in Australia. Brushless motors are available for use with or without gear boxes so there is a lot of scope for experimentation. Batteries are typically 7 Sanyo NiCads with the new CP 1300 and 1700 cells proving very popular. If you are interested in putting a 7 cell model together there are a number of successful competitors in DAC who are happy to help with advice. A visit to the club on almost any Saturday afternoon is all it takes to make contact with this group.

Neil Spencer

(Click on photos for enlargement - 640 x 480)

Relevant Links

VMAA

Australian Electric Flight Association

*** 10 January, 2010 10:27 PM +1000 ***

Last updated 10 January, 2010

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